2017 began with the promise of planning for a larger fleet: at the end of 2016, the Navy announced a 355-ship requirement, and the incoming Trump Administration expressed its support for a larger military and a heftier Navy. Few concrete steps were taken this year, though, to begin a buildup – though many programs that will be pivotal to the 355-ship fleet of the future reached significant programmatic milestones in 2017.

USS Coronado (LCS-4) Sailors man the rails as the ship transits the San Diego Harbor to return to homeport after an 18 month deployment on Dec. 5, 2017. US Navy Photo

NAVAL BASE SAN DIEGO, Calif. – With guidance from an orange tug, the littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) inched its way toward its berth Tuesday afternoon and wrapped up its maiden deployment after 18 months in the Western Pacific. Read More →

WASHINGTON NAVY YARD – The Navy completed the first phase of its initial operational test and evaluation on the AN/DVS-1 Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) airborne mine detection system and is awaiting Littoral Combat Ship availability to complete the remaining testing. Read More →

KUALA LUMPUR — The Tuesday firing of the Harpoon Block 1C missile off the coast of Guam by the Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) formed a significant milestone as it demonstrated the LCS’s capabilities that are not possessed by other ships, in particular, its integrated air detachment and the ship’s inherent modular capabilities Rear Admiral Don Gabrielson, the head of Commander Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73, told USNI News on Friday. Read More →

Coast Guard air crews unhook a Fire Scout UAS during a test on the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf near Los Angeles, Dec. 5 2014. The Coast Guard Research and Development Center has been testing UAS platforms consistently for the last three years. US Coast Guard photo.

The Coast Guard is pursuing a path to greater maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities through an approach that leverages both Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense resources, the commandant said today. Read More →

CHANGI NAVAL BASE, Singapore — USS Coronado (LCS-4) has arrived in Singapore to begin a scheduled rotational deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific, marking the first time the trimaran-hulled Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship has been deployed to the region. Read More →

This post has been updated with additional statements from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson.

The Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) has suffered an engineering casualty in route to Singapore and is returning to Hawaii to assess the damage, Navy officials told USNI News on Tuesday. Read More →

The littoral combat ships USS Independence (LCS 2), back, and USS Coronado (LCS 4) are underway in the Pacific Ocean in April 2014. US Navy photo.

USS Coronado (LCS-4) departs its San Diego homeport today for an extended maiden deployment in the western Pacific, making it the first of the aluminum, triple-hulled Littoral Combat Ships to make an operational cruise. Read More →